Islanders sniper Ziggy Palffy, back from his Caribbean vacation, told his agent Paul Kraus yesterday that his first choice of destination is to the Rangers.

According to Kraus, Mike Milbury and Palffy met on Thursday in Milbury’s office, during which time the Islanders’ GM officially told him he was being shopped.

Palffy does not want to speak on the record to reporters because he doesn’t want to interfere with the auctioning process and hurt his trade value. But it’s been learned that his first choice is Broadway, mostly because he recently bought a million-dollar house on Long Island’s North Shore and doesn’t want to have to turn around and sell.

Although the Rangers practice in Rye, Palffy, a three-time 40-goal scorer, believes he can still maintain his new digs as a Ranger. During Palffy’s contract holdout last winter, Palffy told The Post he would welcome a deal to the Rangers. The allure, obviously, is still there.

According to Kraus, Palffy’s second choice is Los Angeles, where his longtime Slovakian friend, Jozef Stumpel, plays center.

There is no other active NHL player who has played more regular-season games (196) than Palffy without being in the playoffs.

‘How can he be upset?” Kraus said of the Isles’ quest to dump Palffy’s five-year, $26 million contract. ”What, he wants to be on a sinking ship, the last guy on the Titanic? It’s a romantic thing, but it’s not very smart.”

The Kings, Red Wings, Blackhawks and Rangers have been most heavily involved in the Palffy auction. Kraus believes the Wings would actually make the perfect fit, particularly because Detroit is expected to trade Brendan Shanahan.

”Look on paper, the Wings need a right wing,” Kraus said. *There’s a chance promising RW Mark Lawrence may be stuck on Long Island after all. A dispute has arisen between Lawrence’s agent, Pat Morris, and the NHL on whether Lawrence qualifies for unrestricted free agency. Thanks to heads-up research by Isles contract guru Mike Santos, the league believes Lawrence is a restricted free agent – a colossal difference from being unrestricted. Lawrence, hence, wouldn’t be allowed to sign with another team without heavy compensation (five first- round picks).